Smoke-consuming furnace



' (No Model.) w

M.FULTON. SMOKE GONSUMING FURNACE.

\Vitnesses:

Inventor.

Attorney.

Y'NITED STATES MAl-ILON FULTON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SMOKE-CONSUMING FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 519,530, dated May 8,1894.

Application filed December 9,1893. srm No. 493.275. (No modem T0 aZ Zwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MAHLON FULTON, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMethods of and Means for Consuming Waste Products of Combustion, ofwhich the'following is a full, clear,

and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a method of and means for consuming theescaping gaseous products of combustion in furnaces.

In carrying out my invention I introduce to the gaseous products,preparatory to their escape to the open air, a volume of air, which,commi-ngling with said products, and blending its oxygen therewith,renders the same highly combustible. I also dispose in the path of thegases thusprepared an electric sparking device, by which said gases areignlted. I preferably arrange a series of air supplylng and sparkingdevices alternately, at regular intervals apart, whereby the gases areacted upon'at successive stages through:

out their course, and effectually consumed be fore their final escape tothe atmosphere.

In the preferred embodiment of my inven tion, the electric energy bywhich the spark 1s efiected, is transmitted from a suitable storagebattery which is charged from a dynamo, as will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the annexed drawings, Figure- 1 is a longitudinal verticalsection of a furnace structure to which my invention is ap-. plied. Fig.2 1s a transverse vertical section,

' as on the line 00-00 of Fig. 1.

Although, in -the present instance, I have shown my invention as appliedto the furnace structure A of the horizontal boiler B, it will beunderstood that the improvement is applicable to any furnace orcombustion apparatus in which carbonaceous gases are evolved from thefuel consumed. Various attempts have been made to reduce these gases,and to prevent their escape to the atmosphere. The method most commonlypracticed has been the injection of air to the gases preparatory totheir escape from the combustion chamber, the mixture of theoxygen withthe hot carbonaceous gases rendering the same inflammable. Thus, theresultant gaseswere ignited by the flames in the combustion chamber. Acomplete combustion of the gases evolved in the chamber could not behad, however, and hence the object in view was only partially attained.

By my invention I am enabled to effect the consumption of the major partof the carbonaceous' products and,-at the same time, economicallyutilize the resultant heat, as follows: Disposed at intervals throughoutthe course traversed by the products of combustion on their way to thechimney or stack, a, from the combustion chamber, a, is a series ofpipes O, by which air may be introduced to the products. In the presentinstance these pipes are arranged transverselybetween the walls of thestructure, theirends com.- municating with the open air. The innerportionsof these pipes are perforated on their forward faces, as at 0,relative to the direction of movement of the gases, so that the latterin their passage draw in a supply of air, and are thus renderedinflammable. Alternating with these air supply pipes is a series ofelectric sparking devices, D,the function of which is to ignite theinflammable gases successively, and thus occasion their effectualcombustion. By introducing the airat different stages of the course, andprogressively igniting the resultant gases, a more thorough consumptionof the latter is attainable'than'if ignition took place at a single 8point. Although the electric conductors, d, may be run directly from adynamo d, I preferably connect the wires with a storage battery (1 andin turn connect the latter with the dynamo. The object of thisarrangement is to enable the sparking to be continued after the dynamohas been stopped for a period, and hence prevent the accumulation ofgases in the furnace during such stoppage, and their consequent violentexplosion upon the restarting of the current. The battery is of suchcapacity that during the running of the dynamo for aperiod of, say, tenhours, sufficient electric energy is stored to efiect the requisitesparking for aperiod of, say, fourteen hours.

I preferably dispose in the rear of the furnace a back wall a the lowerportion of which is grated, as at a. This wall directs the volume of gasto the incoming air and efiects an lntimate mixture thereof preparatoryto ignition.

In addition to the features above described, I sometimes build in frontof the usual bridge wall, a, of the furnace, a supplemental wall a toform an intermediate space a, which communicates withthe ash box and thecombustion chamber.

By the above described construction, the heat resulting from theignition of the gases is utilized upon the boiler, and, at the sametime, the draft of the furnace is materially increased.

I remark that the words spark and sparking are used herein in theirbroadest and most comprehensive sense that a glow shall be embracedthereby.

I claim as my invention- 1. The method of consuming Waste products ofcombustion in furnaces, which consists in introducing air thereto, andthen igniting the combined gases by means of an electric spark,substantially as described.

2. The method of consuming waste products of combustion in furnaces,which consists in introducingair thereto at intervals, and igniting thecombined gases at alternate points by means of electric sparks,substantially as described. Y

3. In a furnace, the combination with the combustion chamber, of an airfeeding tube or duct communicating with said chamber, and an electricsparking device in advance of said tube or duct, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a furnace, the combination with the combustion chamber, of aseries of air feeding tubes or ducts intermediate said chamber and thesmoke stack, and a series of electric sparking devices alternating withsaid tubes or ducts, substantially as described.

5. In a furnace, the combination with the combustion chamber, of an airfeeding tube intermediate said chamber and the smoke stack, an electricsparking device forward of said tube, a storage battery electricallyconnected with said sparking device, and a dynamo electrically connectedwith said battery, substantially as described.

6. In a furnace, the combination with the combustion chamber of an airfeeding duct, an electric sparking device forward thereof, and a gratedor perforated wall or partition between said duct and sparking device,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto at fixed my signature in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

MAI-ILON FULTON. lVitnesses:

JOHN R. NOLAN, J ESSE B. HELLER.

